Are
Christians 'Mushrik' (Polytheists)
or 'Kaafirs' (Rejecters)?
Should
Christians be considered as Mushrik because they worship the person of Jesus Christ, and there
is no forgiveness for that as Allah told us [in the Qur’an]. Or Kaafir
because Allah tells us that everyone who attributes to god a son is a Kaafir.
Reply
Before
I answer your specific question, it would be appropriate to first take a close
look at the two terms “Mushrik” and “Kaafir”, as only
after that can we say whether the Christians, Jews or adherents of any other
religion fall in these categories or not.
Let
us first take the term “Kaafir”. “Kaafir” in the Arabic
language means “rejecter”. The term “Kaafir”, normally taken to
be synonymous with “non-Muslim” or “non-believer” is quite different
from the two terms. A “non-Muslim”, obviously, is a person who does not
adhere to the Muslim faith. Thus, all those who do not ascribe to the Muslim
faith are “non-Muslims”. A “non-believer”, generally used for a person
who does not believe in God and the Day of Judgment. “Kaafir”, on the
other hand, is a person who knowingly rejects the truth. A person may not
believe in some ‘truth’ for a number of reasons. For instance, he may not be
fully convinced of some aspect of that ‘truth’ or he may have some doubts in
his mind regarding that truth. However, if all doubts are removed from his mind
and he becomes fully convinced of that truth, yet he persists in not accepting
it or persists in ascribing to a wrong belief after becoming certain of its
incorrectness, he then becomes a “Kaafir” and is no longer just a
“non-Muslim” or a “non-believer”.
In
other words, all those people who persist in not accepting Islam after being
fully convinced that Islam is the true religion of the Almighty or persist in
ascribing to a false belief after being convinced of its incorrectness are “Kaafirs”
or rejecters of the truth. All others for our purposes are “non-Muslims” or
“non-believers”.
This
explanation, if considered closely, should clarify the fact that we cannot call
anyone a “Kaafir” unless we have absolute knowledge of the reasons
for his rejection of faith (or Islam), which we do not possess. Thus, for the
purpose of this world, we should not call anyone a “Kaafir”. It is
only God, Who with His absolute knowledge can declare someone a “Kaafir”.
No one besides God possesses the knowledge that is essential to declare someone
a “Kaafir”.
Thus,
we know on the basis of God’s declaration in the Qur’an that the Jews and
the Christians (and those ascribing to other faiths) during the time of the
Prophet (pbuh) refused to believe in the Prophet (pbuh) even after being fully
convinced of his prophethood and were therefore termed “Kaafir” by
the Almighty. As far as the Jews and the Christians of later times are
concerned, we do not have adequate knowledge of the reasons for their rejection
to term them “Kaafir”. God, on the Day of Judgment, shall give the
decision regarding these Jews and Christians. Those, among them, who refused to
accept Islam and the prophethood of Mohammed (pbuh), although they were fully
convinced of it being the truth, shall stand in the category of “Kaafirs”
on the Day of Judgment.
The
term “Mushrik”, like the term “Kaafir” has also been
slightly misused. It is not just ascribing to a polytheistic belief that makes a
person a “Mushrik”. According to the Qur’an, “Mushrik”
is one who ascribes partners to God. Christians, though ascribe to a
polytheistic belief, do not ascribe partners to God. They believe that there is
only one god and He does not have any partners. Yet they ascribe to a belief,
which in the eyes of the Muslims and according to the Qur’an is a polytheistic
belief. Christians, according to the Qur’an, would have been called “Mushrik”
had they believed that ascribing a son to God is a polytheistic belief and would
still have held that belief.
The
above should also explain why the Qur’an, even though it has pointed out that
the Jews and the Christians of the times of the Prophet (pbuh) ascribe to some
polytheistic beliefs has not addressed them as “Mushrik”. The
Qur’an has only addressed the Banu-Ishmael and other Arab polytheists
who clearly ascribed to polytheism by the term “Mushrik” (as should
be clear from Al-Baqarah 2: 105, Aal Imraan 3: 67, Surah
Al-Taubah 9: 1 – 33, Al-Bayyinah 98: 1).
In
the light of the above explanation, in my opinion, the Christian should not be
called “Mushrik” or “Kaafir”. We may say that Christians
ascribe to polytheistic beliefs but should not call them polytheists, as the
Qur’an has not called them polytheists. Likewise, we can call them
“non-Muslims”, but should not call them “Kaafir”, as we do not
know who among them has knowingly rejected Islam and who has not accepted Islam
because he was not convinced of it being the final truth from God.
I
hope this helps. In case any aspect of my answer remains unclear, please feel
free in writing back to me at your own convenience.
May
the Almighty guide us all to the path of His liking.
Regards
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